School Closure Policies and Procedures

On rare occasions, classes may need to be canceled and offices closed due to adverse weather conditions or for other emergency reasons.

The provost will make the decision whether or not to close the Newberg campus, Portland Center and Salem site for daytime classes by 6:30 a.m. or 2:15 p.m. for evening classes. This applies to all days of the week, including Saturday. Decisions at the Redmond site will be made by the professor teaching the class.

Major considerations are road conditions, ice, utility service disruption, and how long the severe weather or emergency is likely to last. To find out if a closure decision has been made when bad weather occurs:

Visit the George Fox flashalert.net page (this is the first site updated).

When the university is closed, employees receive pay for that closed day as if they worked. Employees who are required to work during a closure as part of an emergency Plant Services crew or in any other capacity deemed essential by their supervisors are allowed to take corresponding time off within the following 30 days.

In unique circumstances, a decision may be made to cancel classes but keep offices open. In that case, administrators and support staff are notified by telephone to report to work, or they may check the recorded messages on the switchboard. (Radio and television announcements about school closings may not make a distinction between classes being canceled and offices being closed.)

Weather may make it difficult or even impossible for some to come to campus even though the university is operating as usual. In no circumstances should employees or students put themselves in danger or peril in an attempt to get to campus. If they feel conditions are too hazardous for travel, they should not make the attempt. In this case, as soon as possible after 8 a.m., the employee should call and notify his or her supervisor of an absence or late arrival. Time missed from work in these situations should be recorded as vacation.